Colostomy appliance



mi 14, 1953 E. F. NELSON 2,634,727

' COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE Filed April 11, 1949 2 SHEETS-SI-IEET 1 ATTORNEY,

1953 E. F. NELSON COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE z Sl-lEETS-SHEET 2 Filed April 11, 1949 51D. RUBBER rm gywm,

ZLHART Mme/v ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1953 COLOSTOMY APPLIANCE Elhart F. Nelson, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Medical Specialty Company, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 11, 1949, Serial No. 86,709

1 Claim. (Cl. 128-283) This invention relates to a colostomy appliance. Y It is generally aimed to provide an improved structure having a mounting ring and'coacting discharge receiving pouch Or bag 'which is light in weight, inexpensive and may be thrown away or'disca'rded after a single use, one in which the bag is of a material capable of being stretched into and remaining in fitting and self-retaining engagement with said ring, and which will so cover and protect said ring that it cannot be contacted by the" body discharge and hence require other than normal cleaning.

Another object is to provide a construction which may be comfortably worn and wherein the pouch or bag will retain and protectively cover a-- cushioning ring against the mounting ring A further object is to provide a construction optionally having meansto prevent turning of the pouch or bag on the mounting ring.

Still further an object is to provide a construction of mounting ringwhich is well adapted to be carried by a pair of belts crossing and attached together relatively close to the mounting ring.

Various additional objectsand advantages will in part be pointed out and otherwise become apparent from a consideration of thedescription following taken in connection'with the accompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment wherein- 1 Fig. 1 is a view in perspective illustrating the colostomy appliance with its attaching harness;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation looking toward the ring and coacting pouch or bag;

Fig; -3-i s a side elevation partly broken away, of the coacting ring and bag;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the bag;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a modified form of attaching ring;

Fig. 6 is an edge elevation of the attaching ring of Fig. 5 in association with a fragment of the coacting bag,

Figs. '7 and 8 are detail cross-sections through modified cushion rings and associated attaching rings;

. Fig. 9 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section through a modified form of the appliance;

Fig. 10 is a view more in detail showing the normal construction and suggesting the method of attachment of the parts of Fig. 9, and

Fig. 11 is an elevational view taken at rightangles to the last figures and of a further modification.

Referring specifically to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate like or similar parts throughout the views, andfirst to the form of Figs. 1 to 4, In designates an attaching ring having a relatively narrow flange ll, and a relatively wide flange l2 paralleltherewith, which flanges are integrally connectedtogether-by a tubular or neck portion 13. This attaching ring may be made of a metal such as aluminum or steel, hard rubber, plastic or any other suitable material. The large flange i2 is adapted to be disposed flat against the body of the wearer in-surronnd; ing relation to the artificial-opening. {This ring in is adapted to carry a pouch or bag [3 which is open only at the top ormouth. Such bag 13 is at the upper or mouth portion extended through the ring at-the neck It) preferably being of the-same diameter as the inside diameter of such neck. The mouth or open portion of. bag 13 is then extended laterally at [4, inwardly at l5; and returned at 16, under flange l2 inparallelism to the-portion l4. Preferablyltheibag l3-is made ofrubber hydrochloride; nylon or another suitable plastic or the equivalent, to enable such bag to be stretched into the form andpositionfldescribed and best illustrated in Fig. 3. The bag will retain'such shape and positionjof Fig. 3, without danger of detachment or displacement, regardless of the weightof its contents; Said outwardly extending portion l4 may fit intimately against the inner surface of the flange I2, but optionally a cushioning ring I! flat;'tubu f lar or otherwise, of soft rubber, sponge rubber or any equivalent, initially separate from the ring and the bag, is enclosedby the bag and heldin contact with said inner surface of the flange l2. Alternatively, ring I! may be cemented to flange l2 and even occupy a recess or groove therein. The portion I4 is applied directly against the bag so that the ring In and cushion I! (if employed) will be completely closed along the line of the body discharge and hence the ring l0 and cushion 11 will not require cleaning other than normal cleaning from time to time.

The ring l2, with the bag l3 operatively suspended therefrom, may be attached to the body of the user in any suitable manner, for instance by the harness shown at 18, which consists of a pair o1 flexible straps l 9 riveted or otherwise fastened at 20 to suitable openings in the smaller flange H of the ring I 6. These straps are preferably crossed and stitched together as at 2! at front or back relatively close to the ring and additionally are preferably equipped with a suitable adjustable buckle at 22.

After use, the bag 13 may be readily pulled ofi of the ring l0, straightening itself at the stretched portion of the mouth which attached it to the ring in order to recede through the ring opening. The bag is intended to be discarded after a single use, and as it is of a relatively inexpensive material a supply is to be kept on hand by the user and a new one substituted upon discard of a used one.

By reason of the fact that the smaller flange H is spaced outwardly from the larger ring, and the latter temporarily becomes embedded in the body of the wearer, such flange H forms an eifective outwardly ofiset means whereby the appliance may be grasped or held incidental to application and removal with respect to the body and also with respect to application and removal of the bags.

The ring I! in forming a cushion aids in the structure being worn comfortably, and'will further form in efiect a seal with the body to prevent leakage as the body discharge passes into the bag.

In lieu of making the bag [3 of rubber hydrochloride or nylon, it may be made of any other plastic or even rubber provided it has the ability to stretch and in stretched condition retain adjacent the ring the shape described and shown in Fig. 3. It will be clear, of course, that the bag I 3 initially is preferably of the same diameter throughout.

Various changes may be resorted to provided they fall within the spirit and scope of the in.- vention. For instance, I may use the modified form of ring shown in Fig. 5 in lieu of that disclosed in the preceding figures. This modified form of ring has, for example, a plurality of lugs 23 disposed between flanges here designated H and 12, which are the equivalent of those at I] and I2, respectively, since the modified ring otherwise is identical with that at Ill. These lugs 23 form projections or an unevenness whereby a bag-l3 mounted thereon in the same manner as disclosed in the preceding form at the stretched mouth portion, will engage the hooks or projections 23, avoiding any tendency of the bag to turn relatively to the ring while in place or while being handled especially in detaching it from the ring. These lugs 23 are of hook-shape and may be struck out from the flange [2' or they may be provided in any other desired manner or the flange l2 at the corresponding location may otherwise be roughened in order to accomplish the same function mentioned, since the bag does not need to be punctured or otherwise impaired by the lugs 23 or the equivalent.

This modified ring of Figs. 5 and 6 may be made of the same material as the ring of the preceding form, and it may optionally employ the cushion [5 of the preceding form.

In the modified form of Fig. '7, I employ a cushion ring H of the same material as and in lieu of that shown at l1. Ring H is hollow, rounded and provided with a flange IT to clip the same removably to the ring III with the margin of flange i2 fitted in a groove 11 Ring I1 may be unbroken or split as preferred as at l'l Fig. 8 discloses another form of attaching ring designated l1 wherein an optionally unbroken or split cushioning ring I! of the same materials and of either'of the previously described shapes is interfitted optionally with or without cement, in an annular recess 24 of the larger flange of the attaching ring.

In the modified form of Figs. 9 and 10, a ba 25 which may be adapted optionally for a single use or repeated use and may be of kidney shape or otherwise of elastic or stretchable material like rubber or the materials from which bag I3 is made, has an attaching neck 26 which is passed removably through an attaching ring R and optionally through a cushioning ring C, which rings R. and C may be of any of the forms previously described. Neck 26 has a marginal reinforcing bead 2! and such neck and beadare of less diameter than that of the ring opening so that the bead and adjacent portion of the neck may be stretched or dilated over the larger flange of ring R. and then contracted between the flanges, that is, be attachable and removable from the ring R or from and to the full and dotted line positions of Fig. 10.

Fig. 11 discloses the form of Fi s. 9 and 10 modified in that the bag R is adapted for reuse a number of times but is lined with a removable paper or other bag 28 to be discarded after a single use.

I claim as my invention:

A colostomy appliance comprising a mountin member provided with a body-engaging surface and a receiving opening, and a bag of stretchable and inherently shape-retaining nylon having a mouth portion passing through said opening and removably stretched over said surface.

ELHART F. NELSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,129,054 GBlSIEr Sept. 6, 1933 2,205,270 Perry June 18, 1940 

